ICS Daily Devotions
Deal with Your Fear
1 Samuel 17:32 (NKJV) Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
We are all accustomed to responding to situations based on what our senses tell us. Nobody responded to Goliath’s challenge because they were intimidated by his stature. Fear causes us to freeze, flee, or be frightened. In the natural, it was possible for the army of Israel to defeat Goliath despite his height because it had to do with combat skills. But sadly, even though they were trained men of war, their hearts failed them and they were immobilized by fear. Similarly, if we don’t deal with our fear, it will dominate our lives and even rob us of our ability to do what we were trained and equipped to do.
There are times when we may have missed out on the opportunity, or the right timing to do certain things for the Lord, due to fear. Perhaps we should have acted in faith after hearing from Him, but we held back due to over-rationalising, thus allowing fear to slip in. It is important to catch God’s timing, but it requires faith.
2 Timothy 1:5-7 (NKJV) When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The Apostle Paul was certain that Timothy had genuine faith. However, Timothy needed to deal with fear that prevented him from stepping out to use his God-given gift and calling to serve and pastor the churches. Likewise, there is tremendous power from God residing within us, but we need a well-balanced mind to walk out His calling for us. Fear of the unknown, fear of man, and fear of failure can all hold us back from fulfilling our calling.
A spirit of fear can slip into our minds when we over-think and over-process the negatives of doing something for the Lord, whether at church or in the workplace. It can suppress, immobilise and cause us to be indecisive and ineffective. Fear is not from God, and it will prevent us from stepping out when we become overwhelmed by negative reports, an unfavourable environment or the unknown. Understanding the perfect love of God drives out all fear from our lives. All of us are uniquely made by God and He has freely given us different spiritual gifts, talents, life experiences and personalities, and we won’t get to experience God unless we step out in faith like David did.
Faith is stepping out into the unknown after God has given us a Word, even when we are faced with a “Goliath”. And we can overcome fear by meditating upon the Word, listening to it and reading it.
Sermon Series: Trailblazer
